This is the first real decision, before species, colour or pattern. Engineered and solid are two different products that happen to look identical once laid. Here is what actually separates them.
How they are built
Solid is one piece of timber through its whole thickness, typically 14 to 23 mm. What you see on the surface runs all the way down.
Engineered is a sandwich: a top layer of noble timber — the wear layer — bonded onto a substrate of plywood or softwood strips laid at right angles. Total thickness usually 10 to 15 mm.
The decisive difference: movement
Wood swells and shrinks across its width with humidity. In solid timber nothing restrains it, so a wide solid board moves several millimetres between a damp summer and a heated winter.
In engineered board, the cross-bonded layers pull against each other and cancel most of that movement. This single fact drives almost every practical consequence below.
Where each one wins
| Situation | Choose |
|---|---|
| Underfloor heating | Engineered |
| Kitchen, bathroom | Engineered |
| Wide boards, 20 cm and above | Engineered |
| Floating installation | Engineered (solid cannot float) |
| Period property, existing joists | Solid, nailed |
| A floor meant to last a century | Solid |
Sandings: the real lifespan
This is where solid keeps its advantage. A solid board can be sanded five or six times over its life. An engineered board is limited by its wear layer: 2.5 mm allows about one sanding, 3.2 mm two, 6 mm four or five.
Note the overlap: a 6 mm engineered board is not far off a solid one in usable life, while keeping the stability. That is why it is the premium choice today rather than a compromise.
The myth worth killing
“Engineered is the cheap option.” It is not. A 6 mm wear layer on a birch plywood substrate costs more than an entry-level solid board, and performs better in almost every modern building. Price tracks the wear layer and the format, not the family.
Practical points
- Height. Engineered at 14 mm plus underlay adds around 16 mm. Solid nailed on battens can add 40 mm or more — check your door clearances.
- Sound. Fully bonded, both feel equally solid. Floating engineered resonates; that is the installation, not the product.
- Installation. Solid demands a skilled fitter. Engineered can be laid floating by a competent DIYer.
The short answer
In a modern home, with heating in the floor or wide boards on the wish list, engineered with a generous wear layer is the rational choice. In an old house with sound joists and no underfloor heating, solid still makes complete sense.